Ahead of South Carolina-Clemson, Lane Kiffin takes shot at Tigers
South Carolina football fans are just two days away from the annual rivalry game against the Clemson Tigers. With the College Football Playoff within reach for both teams, the stakes will be high on Saturday. Because of that, tensions are high, as well.
However, one of the biggest shots against Clemson this week didn’t come from a Gamecock. Instead, it came from Ole Miss Rebels head coach Lane Kiffin. Much like former South Carolina football coach Steve Spurrier, Kiffin is never afraid to speak his mind.
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During his weekly “Reb Talk” radio show, Kiffin was discussing his team’s College Football Playoff chances, and the conversation shifted to strength of schedule. Said Kiffin, “To think that you’re looking at schools and you’re talking about, like, Clemson’s schedule and who they played over Alabama…” He continued, “Take some of those teams that are up there that haven’t played anybody and put them down in the SEC, they’re .500 teams.” He also called the fact that strength of schedule isn’t getting as much emphasis from the CFP Selection Committee “stupid.”
For reference, according to the Massey Ratings’ strength of schedule metrics, Clemson owns the No. 60 overall SOS. Kiffin’s Ole Miss team is 12th. South Carolina also features prominently, slotting in at No. 10. In fact, the entire SEC ranks significantly better than Clemson in SOS. The highest-rated ACC strength of schedule belongs to Florida State (20th), and the Seminoles are 2-9.
However, the ACC wasn’t the only conference Kiffin called out by name. He also threw the Big 12 under the bus. According to the metrics, the Big 12 has a better strength of schedule than the ACC, but the conference still falls far short of the SEC.
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The College Football Playoff Selection Committee has made it clear, though, that strength of schedule will be further down the line of criteria they will analyze. Both the words of committee chair Warde Manuel and the rankings themselves have proven that.
For South Carolina, though, strength of schedule won’t become part of the conversation unless they take care of business this weekend. The College Football Playoff Rankings have USC at No. 15 in the polls and the Clemson Tigers at No. 12. Shane Beamer’s team has to pick up the big win to have any shot at making the 12-team field.
The Gamecocks and Tigers will kick off at noon inside Memorial Stadium. ESPN will broadcast the rivalry contest, and the ESPN app will make it available for streaming. South Carolina won the last meeting in the Upstate 31-30 en route to eliminating Clemson from College Football Playoff contention in 2022.
